Results tagged “Lib Dems'” from The Daily Record - Magnus Gardham

Everybody needs to calm down. The outcome of the election seems to have sparked a battle to out-daft each between Scottish Labour and the SNP. And it's horrible to watch.

First off, Angus Robertson claimed Labour "opened the door of Number 10 to David Cameron".

He's understandably peeved that Labour (and the Lib Dems, by the way, whose Paddy Ashdown said the same) were not planning to include the SNP in any formal coalition - somewhat embarrassing after Alex Salmond boasted of the "mighty hand" fate had dealt his six MPs.

But he's naive to suppose such a thing was ever possible and that Labour's late talks with the Lib Dems were anything other than a move to rattle the inevitable Con-Lib coalition before it was even formed.

His claim that "thanks to Labour's animosity towards the SNP and their refusal even to talk to the SNP about an alternative, Scotland now has a Tory Government" is very, very barmy.

It's not going to stick and I'd be surprised if the SNP pursue it. Look at it this way. Who's the guy shaking hands with Prime Minister David Cameron outside No 10? Nick Clegg, the new Deputy Prime Minister. Exactly.

But it's not just poor old Angus who's found the whole process a bit too much.

Margaret Curran hit back at the Nats with this: "They campaigned for Labour to lose the election, they fought to reduce the number of Labour MPs, they stood candidates against Labour, they repeatedly called for Gordon Brown to resign."

Stand candidates!?! Against Labour!?! How dare they!?!

She might have a point, though, when she says: "This is the result they secretly wanted." But more on that when the dust settles. In the meantime, the daft-war rages on.

SNP MSP Tricia Marwick urged Fife Council to grant Gordon Brown the freedom of Fife. (This is not daft, it's nice, but bear with me.)

In a generous statement she said: "I may have political differences with Gordon Brown but I have never doubted his deep commitment to the people of Fife.

"He is first and foremost a Fifer. He is one of our own and I am calling on all the councillors in Fife Council to unanimously support this award."

At this point Labour could have responded: "That's nice and generous, Tricia, thanks."

But since everybody's pressed the daft-ageddon button, this is what Labour's Fife MSP Claire Baker had to say: "People here don't need the SNP to try and suck up to him (Brown) now.

"They expected Scottish MPs to support a Scottish Prime Minister, rather than campaign for him to be brought down at the first opportunity."

Surely Labour and the SNP can't carry on like this for the next 12 months?

Surely they should spent a couple of weeks calling the Lib Dems "shysters" (not my description, incidentally, but that of Tory-supporting tabloid on Tuesday. See paragraph four)?

RED faces for a couple of candidates today who were no doubt quite chuffed to be asked to write election campaign diaries for a red top paper.

It was such a good opportunity for the Lib Dems' Katy Gordon and the Tories' Peter Lyburn that they kept quiet when the the paper billed them as "first time" candidates.
They're not, of course.

Gordon, who is courting the substantial lapsang souchong vote in (where else?) Glasgow's West End with a campaign to stop a tea shop being bulldozed, stood in Glasgow South West in the last general election and in Glasgow Kelvin in the 2007 Holyrood poll.

As for "first timer" Lyburn, the Tory hopeful in Perth and North Perthshire, he was last seen avoiding votes in Dunfermline West at the last Holyrood election.

I'm told by the Lib Dems that Gordon's inclusion in the series of "first time" candidates was down to "crossed wires" between the paper and her press team.

It has to be said they came over all coy when I asked what steps they had taken to ensure she would not be billed as a "first time" candidate in future, given Nick Clegg's determination to clean up politics etc etc.

But I guess we'll get the answer soon enough.

If you want to follow this one for yourselves you'll need a couple of clues about the paper in question.

It was the one which in the leader column of its English editions on April 7 wrote: "We believe David Cameron would make an excellent Prime Minister," but in Scotland said: "We will set out the arguments from all the parties".